Aditi

What does Aditi mean?

Aditi has the Sanskrit meanings ‘unbound’ and ‘boundless’, alongside its identity as a Vedic goddess. Wiktionary explains the word through a negative prefix and a root connected with binding. The resulting senses include freedom and infinity, with infinity also personified as the goddess Aditi. Both the literal meaning and the divine association are documented. The name Aditya is directly related: it refers to someone belonging to or descended from Aditi, particularly her divine sons.

Source: Wiktionary, अदिति. How we use sources.

Spelling and pronunciation

अदिति is pronounced a-di-ti, in three syllables with short vowels. Adithi is another spelling used in South Indian contexts. The d and t are made with the tongue near the teeth. The final i is short in the Sanskrit form, even when an English pronunciation lengthens it toward ee.

Also spelled Adithi.

Aditi in tradition and story

Aditi is the mother of the Adityas, a group of Vedic sky deities. Rigveda 1.89.10 describes her expansively as heaven, the firmament, mother, father, son and all the gods, showing how her identity reaches beyond that of a single divine figure.